One of my favorite things about this blog is that I get to share my favorite flavor pairings with you. Peanut butter basil, banana chocolate chip, sweet peanut sauce and spicy sriracha, and now: cranberry, cashew and chocolate.
I discovered the beauty of cranberries cashews and chocolate on a random lunchbreak at work recently.
I’d gone out to a shaded bench with a few people in my co-working space, and as ‘dessert’ to my hummus and veggies, I packed a handful of raw cashews, dark chocolate chips and dried cranberries. The result? A flavor combination I wasn’t quite prepared for.
Simple yet insanely delicious, so much so that I felt compelled to stop mid-bite, examine my tiny handful, and announce to my friends that they needed to try it immediately. Out of that moment, this little recipe was born.
Another food love of mine is Larabars. I still remember when my sister discovered them and quickly turned me on to the apple pie flavor. The experience was just short of life changing. Ever since then recipes have been popping up on how to recreate them at home. So when I discovered my most recent flavor pairing, I knew I had to combine the two loves to make one beautiful recipe. And that, I did.
- 15-20 pitted medjool dates*
- 1 cup raw or roasted cashews, unsalted (I used half and half)
- ½ cup dried cranberries (sweetened or unsweetened)
- ½ cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips (non-dairy for vegan)
- Place cashews in food processor and process until they’re in small pieces, but not as fine as flour. You still want some chunks. Empty into bowl and set aside.
- Process dates until small pieces form and they’re sticky.
- Add back in ground cashews, cranberries and chocolate chips. Mix or pulse until well combined.
- Open lid and grab a small handful and squeeze to see if the mixture sticks together. If it’s still too crumbly, add a few more dates and process.
- Scrape mixture into a bowl, then take 1 Tablespoon measurements and form them into balls, letting the heat from your hand melt it together. Don’t roll them in your hands, but rather form them into balls carefully.
- Place balls on a cookie sheet and refrigerate. Add skewers or popsicle sticks once chilled and store at room temperate in plastic bag or tupperwear to keep fresh.
* Yields about 20 balls.
These literally taste like a granola bar cookie. Moist from the dates, a little crunchy from the cashews, plenty sweet from the cranberries, and 100% chocolatey from the chocolate chips. Putting these badboys on sticks is totally optional. I was just taking mine to a dinner party where I wanted to share them as a fun dessert. But eating them as is – or straight from the bowl – is totally fine, too. Any way you serve, them they’re delicious!
Enjoy,
Dana
Heidi @ Food Doodles July 23, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Yummy! I love this idea… could you imagine these dipped in dark chocolate? They could be dressed up in so many different ways, but still so healthy! I gotta try something like this :)
Katie July 24, 2012 at 8:38 am
These ingredients rock my face. And can I just tell you how much I adore that you put them on lollipop sticks? I adore it.
Lauren July 24, 2012 at 7:59 pm
How do I do this without a food processor? Can I use a normal blender?
dana July 25, 2012 at 12:05 pm
A blender should work fine, it’ll just be a little more difficult to scoop out.
rose July 26, 2012 at 3:10 pm
i tried to make these in a blender but the mixture wouldn’t ‘smoosh’.. so i dug out an old food processor and used that. oh, also i added a teaspoon of honey to my mix. anyway, here’s how mine turned out: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7saaoVm9b1ravvi9o1_1280.jpg
thank you so much for this recipe!
dana July 26, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Lovely! Thanks for sharing!
destinabella@hotmail.com July 27, 2012 at 11:58 am
I came across your blog thru Cup of Jo and have really enjoyed perusing it. It’s exactly how I try to cook/bake- few ingredients, few pots and pans and as healthy as I can get it. I look forward to seeing what else you cook up!
-diane
http://twoborough.blogspot.com
dana July 27, 2012 at 9:05 pm
Thanks! Glad to find a fellow lover of simple cooking : )
Joelle August 3, 2012 at 7:03 am
I absolutely LOVE Larabars.. this is a great idea and I can’t wait to make this!! Your recipes look delicious, especially those pancakes :D
Katie April 10, 2013 at 4:27 pm
Just tried these… Love them! my 5 year daughter has already ate 3, can’t wait to try them on my son!